One of the founding X-Men, Dr. Hank McCoy is a mutant possessing animal-like strength and agility. Despite being covered in blue fur and resembling a ferocious beast he possesses an astounding intellect and superb wit. Beast is currently helping the Jean Grey School run, while also serving as an Avenger.

Ben Walker was mentioned by Showbiz411 as getting the role of Beast in the movie. The latest now from ShowBiz411 (via CBM) is that deal has gone bust. It looks like Walker has decided to skip out on being Beast in favor of reprising his starring Broadway role in "Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson."

The question I have now is, will Beast be recast or dropped altogether from the movie? With the rumors of the other mutants, I can't help but wonder what this movie will be about. There's also been talk that scenes are supposed to take place in South or Central America. It's probably for the best that Walker is out given that he's only 3 years younger that McAvoy. Maybe they'll cast younger. ShowBiz411 even mentioned that apparently Fox has been looking at other actors and supposedly checked Taylor Lautner's availability. I'm starting to get scared.

Argue with me later. If they knew what they were doing I wouldn’t have to write this, now would I?

1. Assemble a production team that has knowledge of, and respect for, the source material.

Don’t put people together that have no idea about the backstory, the mythology, or the motivations of the character. *cough*”I never read the comic as a kid”*cough* is NOT the guy to hire. You need writers, directors, producers and crew that have some idea of exactly who they’re writing, lighting, and costuming.

2. KNOW. WHICH THINGS. TO TWEAK.

Yes, comics and movies are two different mediums, and everything won’t translate directly, the audience knows that. But you have to know which elements need to be non-negotiable and which elements can be modified or eliminated while still maintaining the core of the character. *cough* Catwoman *cough* Elektra

3. Cast it right. FAMOUS NAMES DO NOT MAKE US WANT TO SEE THE MOVIE MORE.

I can’t get over the profound ignorance when it comes to this one. Audiences want to see an actor made up to look like the character walked right off the pages of the book. Not actors who are waaaay too young to be who they’re portraying, or a race/ethnicity change that makes no sense OR DIFFERENCE, or ignoring basic fundamental characteristics of the physicality of the hero. HINT: WONDER WOMAN IS NOT BLACK. OR BLONDE. And casting Beyonce as Diana will not make us want to see the movie more. Jessica Alba is not Sue Storm and she didn’t make us want to see the movie more. Dumbasses. And they didn’t even TRY to make Jennifer Garner look like Elektra(hint: Ms. Natchios has jet black curly hair). Unknowns are better, but when you do cast a big name, make sure they are a dead ringer for the role, a la RDJ as Tony Stark or Patrick Stewart for Professor X. NOT HALLE BERRY AS FRICKIN’ STORM.

4. Get the costume right. Get the origin right. Get the powers right. Get the personality right.

There are REASONS that popular characters ARE POPULAR. Sure their costumes, origins, and powers have evolved over time, but there are some core elements that people identify with the character, and it won’t feel like the hero without them. Superman is not dark, his costume colors are not maroon and dirty blue, he’s not a stalker, or a peeping tom, or a deadbeat dad. What the hell is wrong with you people? Batman doesn’t have nipples on his suit. Wonder Woman is not black, and she doesn’t wear a jumpsuit. Dr. Doom WAS NOT IN THE SHIP WITH THE FANTASTIC FOUR, you fantastic morons. Nor was Doom a businessschmuck in a suit. Ever. And did I mention that Jessica Alba is not Sue Storm and she didn’t make us want to see the movie more? Dumbasses.

5. STOP MAKING THE DAMN MOVIE BE ABOUT THE VILLAIN.

Every damn movie that the Joker is in, the movie ends up being about him. I am SICK of seeing my favorite hero trumped and chumped at every possible turn by the villain, and also feeling like the hero is a guest star in his own damn movie. I want to see the hero kicking ass, and being competent. NOT every damn nook and cranny that the villain is doing and how “brilliantly evil” he or she is. Is that too much to ask?

6. Balance the action, CGI, and character development.

One movie that did this almost flawlessy, even though it wasn’t a superhero movie, was The Matrix. We cared about the characters, the action was kick ass, and the CGI didn’t detract from anything that was going on.

7. Master the basics. People want A COMPELLING STORY.

All of the flash and the hype doesn’t mean anything if there’s no story underneath…but that little fact seems to escape today’s film makers. A story has a beginning, a middle, and an end. If you want people to emotionally invest into this world for two hours, then they want to have a satisfying emotional conclusion to the journey, even if there’s a set up for a sequel.

This stuff is not rocket science. Maybe there’s so much damn ego in Hollywood that you don’t understand how life works. If you give people what they want, they’ll give you what you want. Audiences aren’t stupid. We know that all you care about is money, and any way that you can milk a franchise for more profit, you’ll do it. This is not news. But what you don’t seem to understand is that if we have movies that we enjoy, that take us on a profound emotional journey, and that have repeat playability, then we’ll pay money to experience them.

SO TAKE SOME TIME AND READ WHAT I’VE SAID AND GET THE SUPERHERO MOVIES RIGHT.

I hate to be that guy, but if Taylor Lautner's in this movie i aint gonna' see it! Well that's a lie, i'm problay still gonna see it, but if twillight is what there amaing for with this movie, then it's really going to suck!

Again, hate to be that guy...but this movie just sounds more and more like a trainwreck waiting to happen...

@HumanScorch: Have you read my blog about DC Universe movies? You really should and tell me what you think, based on what you said.

And I would like to add that this movie is being too rushed to work right. And please no Taylor Lautner. Just because he played a werewolf, does not make him good for Beast. Taylor Lautner does not look like a young Kelsey Grammar.

One would think that a movie bearing the title X-men: First Class, would be a movie based off of it's comic book counterpart of the same name. Frankly, I think that would be an awesome movie right there, An origin story for the first five brought to the big screen. The original five were, and still remain, some of my favorite X-men. Sadly however, it looks as though all it will be taking from its namesake is just that, its name.

@Solitaire:I think it is supposed to focus on the core 5, but like every fricken marvel movie....it has to have cameos so they'll throw whatever name they can pull off of wikipedia and dress some extra up like and stuff them in the background somewhere or kill them off or make them do something they can't actually do just to screw over the fans of said character and ruin their chances of being in anything else .....sigh.......

Here's a crazy idea. How about taking what the 3 movies gave and making new stories (Movies) out of them. The way I hear is there's going to be X-Men:First Class, (Which to many movie goers are considering X-Men 4) with all new actors portraying Magneto and Prof X and then after that, the REAL X-Men 4 is going to come out with the actors of X-Men 3 taking place after X-Men 3, not after First Class that came before X-Men 4. *scratches his head*

The Revamp Mentality is out of control in comics and movies and because DC and Marvel were able to get away with it in the Hulk and Batman franchises, they want to do it with every franchise. All these revamps are going to do is turn off movie goers by and large (not fanatics) from ever seeing anymore comic based films. I already have friends who aren't comic fans that watch previews in theatres and say that movie looks pretty good but grimmace and sigh when they see at the end of it "A DC Comics Film" or "Marvel Films". Film goers shouldn't have that gag reflex already, there's too many films that haven't been made yet, and I'm afraid that the great films that are yet to come, WON'T be made on account of the CRAPPY ones that ARE being made.

Taylor Lautner would make a good Beast. People will complain, but WHY!? he's a decent actor and has an awesome body with great muscles. Yet they'd complain about them casting a skinny actor? Those haters are just stupid.

I would assume they aren't casting without having a script or at least some idea of what the story is going to be, they wouldn't start casting Emma, and Jean, and Scott, and Charles, and Beast, and Angel, and Magneto, and Banshee, and not have a story yet would they?

I hope not. I also would be unsure and a little worried about casting a Twilight star

Fox is trying to hard to keep the rights to this segment of the Marvel U i dont expect much out of this. I enjoy all of Matt Vaughns movies and the casting for X and MAgneto are cool but really why are they saying Emma Frost and everyone else is in this movie?

" @Cherry Bomb: i agree taylor would be perfect he just needs to stop shaving "

Finally, someone agrees! [: I'm not the only one, lol. But true, people look at Twilight's cast and immediately criticise them. When let's not forget ... the cast have acted before Twilight. :S and will still act. Grrr, those people really annoy me

i know before twilight taylor was in that very cheesy movie the adventures of shark boy & lava girl and i forgot but someone wanted him for a movie i forget what it is and people talk shizz bout the twilight movies because they don't like the way vampires are being portrayed in it but i would love to see Taylor all hairy and blue in a yellow speedo kickin ass and taking names

Taylor looks NOTHING like the Beast. If they cast him, it'll only be so all the horny Twilight girls will channel their sexual frustration at THIS movie, instead of whatever other project Lautner might be doing. Also, they WILL NOT be using the original five X-Men from the comics. They killed that. Iceman and Angel were teenagers in the movies. From what we can gather, the original X-Men were Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, and Beast. It is possible there were others such as Emma Frost, Multiple Man, Banshee, and maybe even Mystique or Gambit.

As long as they don't use the current cat-looking version of the Beast, I'll be happy. I'm kinda tired of this version of him in the comics. I'm really surprised they stuck with it so long.I want the old one back.

I dont get why people actually think that this will be the actual "First Class" of X-Men. When the movie has been descirbed as a "prequal the original x-men trilogy", where the movie versions of both Angel and Iceman are too young to have been part of the movieverse first class.

U can'y call it first class if u are not going to have the original x-men. They screwed that up when they made ice-man a kid in the first three. Stick to the comic guide lines and future movies and spin offs will not be so hard to make and cast for. They also will not have to keep going all reboot or prequel with these stories and scripts. Just stick to the original stories / origins of characters and super teams. Not really that complicated.

i hate it when how hollywood creates a masterpiece,such as the first 2 x-men movies,and then begin to saturate its gloriousness with unnecissary sequel after sequel.and they NEVER even come close to being as good the originals.ya know i think its about time we rise up & STOP hollywood from desecrating the idols,icons & stories we hold so dear!!!! i can just see myself lighting a cigarette off of the burning remains of universal, hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha

"In other news [: Mystique will definately be in this movie, YAY. Since model/actress Jasmine Dustin posted on her Twitter a while ago that she was auditioning for 'Rebecca Romijn's' part in X-Men: First Class.

"On my way to my X-Men Audition .. I think I can pull of Rebecca Romijn's character ... just a younger version!Wish me luck!"